Dubai: Armed groups seized key ministries in Libya’s capital on Thursday.
According to Al Arabiya, the ministries of Defence, Justice and Economy were overtaken in Tripoli.
The Saudi-owned news site did not elaborate on which armed groups were responsible for the take over.
Earlier this month, a deputy leader of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) announced his resignation, saying the UN-backed administration had failed to tackle urgent problems arising from years of conflict and political disarray.
The resignation of Mousa Al Koni casted doubts on the future of the government in its current form, just over a year after it was launched under a UN-mediated deal that had only partial support from Libya’s rival factions.
Western powers have backed the GNA to tackle Daesh militancy, boost Libya’s oil production, and help stem the flow of sub-Saharan migrants from Libya to Europe.
But even as Daesh has been ousted from its former stronghold of Sirte and oil production has recovered slightly, the GNA has largely failed to exert its authority over a country that slid into lawlessness after the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.
The GNA’s leaders, including Al Koni, arrived in Tripoli last year, but have struggled to impose their authority. Militias still hold real power and living conditions have deteriorated.
The GNA has been unable to win endorsement for a cabinet from a parliament based in the east of the country, where power-brokers have continued to back a rival government as armed forces allied to them and under the command of Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar have made military gains on the ground.
In Tripoli, the GNA has gradually taken control of some ministries, but it has been unable to improve security or deal with a liquidity crisis, steep inflation, and a collapse in public healthcare provision.
A self-declared government that the GNA displaced in the capital has recently tried to make a comeback.
